Roberta Louise Gibb (born November 2, 1942) is an American former runner who was the first woman to have run the entire Boston Marathon (1966).[1] She is recognized by the Boston Athletic Association as the pre-sanctioned era women's winner in 1966, 1967, and 1968.[2] At the Boston Marathon, the pre-sanctioned era comprised the years from 1966 through 1971, when women, who under AAU rules could not compete in the Men's Division, ran and finished the race. In 1996 the B.A.A. retroactively recognized as champions the women who finished first in the Pioneer Women's Division Marathon for the years 1966–1971.
Gibb's run in 1966 challenged prevalent prejudices and misconceptions about women's athletic capabilities.[3] In 1967, she finished nearly an hour ahead of Kathrine Switzer. In 1968 Gibb finished first among five women that ran the marathon. It was not until late 1971, pursuant to a petition to the Amateur Athletic Union by Nina Kuscsik, that the AAU changed its rules and began to sanction women's division marathons. Kuscsik won the initial AAU-sanctioned women's division race at Boston in 1972.[4]
- ^ "Boston Marathon History". Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- ^ "Women's Open Division". Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
- ^ http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/cas_sites/communication/pdf/thesis08.zaccone.pdf[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Nina Kuscsik". NYRR.